


Blaze

by Altun_Heiral



Series: Vermillion Fire [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/F, quietly continues to bully altun, she's fine don't worry about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:16:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29738613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Altun_Heiral/pseuds/Altun_Heiral
Summary: A memory of a girl Altun used to love.
Relationships: Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)/Original Character(s)
Series: Vermillion Fire [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2184399
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	Blaze

**Author's Note:**

> In which i hurt Altun by writing about when she was still in her teens and smitten with a girl from her tribe.

No one really questioned that Altun suddenly was smitten with Caalun. No one was bothered about a girl chasing another girl around that she happened to have feelings for. It didn’t bother anyone. They thought it was sweet to see Altun find someone finally outside of Mide that she connected with. Altun followed Caalun every where around the encampment, listening to the tunes she would sing. Altun enjoyed music quite a bit, and was drawn to whatever tune Caalun had happened to strike up at the time they were together. Caalun seemed to be smitten with Altun nearly as much as Altun was with her. She always made her trinkets, taught her songs she knew.

Caalun was an orphan like Altun, and perhaps that was part of why she had latched onto her as much as she had. They were close in age and both had lost their families. The only time Altun didn’t go with Caalun was when she went out hunting. Altun would stay back, usually working on her own things or watching after some of the younger ones in the tribe. Caalun would always return before dusk, whistling a tune with a smile on her face. They would sit around the fire and talk over evening meals, laughing at each others dumb jokes. Mide was happy to see Altun finally laughing and perhaps even starting to feel more comfortable as the years had gone on.

The whole tribe really enjoyed watching them. On days when they didn’t have nearly as many duties they would go down to the river and mess around, splashing water at each other. Altun would fish while Caalun told her stories about her parents. Altun couldn’t contribute much to this particular conversation, as the older she got, the more she realized she didn’t remember much of her parents. She didn’t mind listening to Caalun talk about her family though. Altun enjoyed hearing about the other tribes and their ways of life. Altun would tell Caalun about what it was like to travel under water like her tribe did. How neat it felt to be able to hold her breath for nearly quarter of a bell.

Caalun always seemed fascinated by this as she couldn’t really imagine being able to hold her breath for that long. Altun taught Caalun how to spearfish, taught her all the tricks her parents had taught her when she was young. How to weave baskets with straps to carry fish easily back to camp. They taught each other pieces of their lives and childhoods. They were close. Sometimes Altun would rest her head on Caalun’s shoulder, dozing off around the fire. Caalun really was the first person Altun had grown to love. The first person to show her feelings to. Caalun was the first person outside of Mide to see who she really was.

Everyone in the tribe watched them grow closer and closer, wondering just how close they would get to each other, if a true relationship would blossom. It probably would have, if Caalun had come back home from hunting one summers day. Altun had been helping Mide that day fix some of the clothing of the tribes members. The sun was beginning to set which means that Caalun would be arriving back soon. She always went out on her own, she was more than capable of handling herself. When the sun dipped beyond the horizon and dark overtook the land, Altun realized something wasn’t right. Caalun hadn’t come home. Even Mide found it strange.

A search party was sent out and Altun tossed and turned throughout the night, fretting over Caalun. Mide watched her as she fought to find to some sort of rest in her worry. Mide didn’t sleep much either as she stayed up to greet the search party. The first group had returned. They found no trace of Caalun. They didn’t find her weapons, her pouch, her tools, nothing. Altun had watched as Mide talked to the search party, her head falling forward. Mide had acted as her mother for long enough now that she knew what that meant. The second search party returned later in the evening with the same news. They couldn’t find her. There was no trace of her.

Altun waited for days for Caalun to return, thinking maybe she simply got lost or turned around and stayed with another tribe to rest up. The more the days crept on with no appearance from Caalun, the more she realized that she wasn’t coming back. Mide had found her in their yurt, screaming into the void from what it appeared. She was crying, curled up with her arms around herself. She had basically made a mess of everything she could that wasn’t breakable. Her tools were scattered across the yurt, bag emptied of it’s contents. Mide had no idea how to comfort her. She had slowly walked over and simply wrapped her arms around Altun. She all but collapsed into the embrace, screaming about how it wasn’t fair.

It was the first time Altun asked why the people she cared for had to die.


End file.
